KOCHI, KERALA — Kerala Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil is at the center of a growing scandal and is now facing a new and serious accusation of sexual harassment. A trans woman activist named Avanthika has accused the Palakkad MLA of sending her “sexually regressive messages” and spoke about his “rape fantasies.”
Avanthika told Malayalam media that her connection with Mamkootathil, which started as a friendship when they met during an election discussion, became “disgusting.” She says he would call her late at night and send her texts saying he wanted to rape her and suggesting they go to Bengaluru or Hyderabad to do it. Avanthika says she told Congress leaders about the problem, but they did nothing.
The new claims came just a day after Mamkootathil stepped down as head of the Kerala Youth Congress. He quit after Malayalam actress Rini Ann George and writer Honey Bhaskaran publicly accused him.
Rini Ann George first made an anonymous claim against a “young leader” of a well-known political party. She said he sent her inappropriate texts and asked her to meet him at a five-star hotel. She didn’t name anyone, but opposition parties like the BJP and CPI(M) said she was talking about Mamkootathil.
Honey Bhaskaran then posted on Facebook, accusing the MLA of sending her rude texts and then lying about their chat to his coworkers. She said that the officials of the Youth Congress didn’t listen to complaints about his behavior.
At a news conference when he announced his resignation as president of the Youth Congress, Mamkootathil refuted all of the accusations and said he had not done anything “illegal in his conscience.” He also said that the women who made the accusations had not filed a formal complaint against him and that he was ready to fight the charges in court.
The growing charges against Mamkootathil have put the Congress party leadership in Kerala under a lot of pressure. Opposition parties and activists are calling for him to step down as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). The leaders of the party have said that they are looking into the issue and would act properly.